Thinking of visiting Northern Ireland's new seat of power at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, then cast your eyes on our latest album and wet the appetite for your visit.

As you can see from the photographs the decor is magnificent, in fact the ceilings you see in the pictures above have never needed to be touched up since the building was erected in the early nineteen hundreds. Just as well really, since no-one knows the formula for the paint. You can also see from these photos that the symmetry and symbols on the ceiling are matched with precision with the symbols and symmetry on the floor. The exquisite chandeliers above were originally a present to Her Majesty the Queen from Germany, however they were taken down from Windsor Castle during the war years and ended up being lent to Parliament Buildings. After the Windsor Castle fire, it was noted during an inventory that the chandelier was missing and upon locating it, the Palace requested its return. However after much diplomacy it was agreed that Parliament Buildings could have permanent loan of it. It is a magnificent piece that has small golden eagles right around its base and stands out from other lighting in the building, such as the last picture above, which again is in its original form. 

During our visit to Stormont we only had access to the Great Hall and the exterior for the purpose of taking photographs. However as you can see the Great Hall is quite special. The Bronze at the top of the stairs weights a tonne or two and is a life size statue of Lord Craigavon, First Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The 5th picture above leads to what used to be the old Senate Chamber and as the building mimics the House of Commons, this room was the equivalent to our House of Lords. Unfortunately, we were prohibited from taking photographs of any other rooms in the Building and very disappointed that the tour only tool in three rooms, the Great Hall, The Senate and the new Assembly Chamber.

On the 7th June 1921 James Craig became the First Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. His body and that of his wife's are buried in a tomb which sits to the right hand side of Parliament Buildings. Lord Craigavon's tomb is the only interment in the Stormont Estate. The photographs above demonstrate the tomb's location in relation to the building. 

The grounds of Parliament Buildings (the Stormont Estate) are open during the day to the public. In fact if entering the grounds from the Upper Newtownards Road entrance, you can visit on your right a children's park dedicated to the former Northern Ireland Minister Mo Molam.

The views of Belfast from the Stormont Estate are breathtaking. The main entrance from the Upper Newtownards Road, extends for a mile up to Parliament Buildings itself. You can see from the photographs above the main entrance into Stormont and can note the remarkable symmetry of the layout of the grounds, a theme which is echoed both inside and outside the building. You can also note from the photographs above the architecture and symbolism used both on the building itself and the gates of the estate.

During the second world war this remarkable site was used by the RAF to co-ordinate the allied response in the South Atlantic and it is widely believed that it was here that the attack and eventual sinking of the Bismarck was planned and co-ordinated. However, as you can see the building is essentially white and due to the symmetry of the roads, the building in essence has in front of it two roads crossing to provide a very large 'X', as in 'X' marks the spot, providing the German bombers too obvious a target. To protect the site from attack during the war, the roads were covered to blend into the grassland and the building was painted in a mixture which is thought to contain both tar and manure. It worked, Parliament Buildings never took a direct hit. However after the war it took a team of men years to remove this mixture from the building, with wire brushes. In fact, it remains to this day and if you look at the black marks on the stones at the top of the building, this is not as many think, the effects of time, but the remains of this mixture, which proved hard to remove. As you can see from the final picture above the Stormont Estate is popular with tourists who can use our jump on jump off tourist buses from the heart of Belfast City Centre. However, please note that whilst you can visit Parliament Buildings on days when the Northern Ireland Assembly is sitting and request to sit in the public gallery, or as they say the 'Strangers Gallery', this is on a first come, first served basis. A tour of the building needs to be arranged through an MLA who make the appropriate arrangements with the Parliament Building's Event Office.

Did You Know: The original plans for Parliament Buildings were to include three buildings as one, with a Capital Hill Style Dome in the Centre!